In his op-ed entitled “Un-justice” August 31, 2007 David Flores opines on the use of the death penalty and the law of parties, “by killing someone on a technicality we could be opening a Pandora’s Box of problems for ourselves.” In Flores’ last paragraph he writes, “but as we start to get more liberal with whom we kill, there are more ethical questions that should be addressed.”
Mr. Flores, in case you haven’t noticed, Pandora’s Box is already open and those committing the crimes aren’t concerned with addressing the ethical questions of the consequences of their actions upon society. The rapid re-arrests of Texas Youth Commission parolees released due to over-crowding and how quick they are to resume their evil ways is proof of the evil spewing out of the Pandora’s box of liberal sentiment that released these thugs in the first place. Ask the rape victim of a TYC parolee about the nobility of society’s ethical concerns regarding capital punishment… sorry… only a liberal could be so callous to give serious consideration to that question. Liberal sentiment regarding the welfare and rights of criminals is the real Pandora’s box that raises ethical questions that should be addressed.
Right now some readers, namely liberals, are in an agitated state yelling such things as “logical fallacy” “straw man” and all sorts of hoity-toity, scholastic logic and philosophy terms that one data dumps right after a final in philosophy or hug-a-thug sociology 101… that’s fine. One need only read the paper or watch the news to see the consideration criminals deserve for the evil they visit on society to put the pedantry aside. Society needs to ask this question: what resources have we wasted on criminals in terms of cost-effectiveness and opportunity costs (the highest value activity given up to pursue a course of action) by not executing, in an efficient manner (i.e. no base-less appeals by bleeding heart liberal attorneys) and what it has gotten us. Answer: a debasing of society with a criminal element that knows it can prey upon the populace with little real consequence and rely on the moral support of liberals should they face any.
Now, to bring the discussion back to executions and “technicalities” let me use the word liberal in a positive aspect. The state of Texas should be more LIBERAL in who it executes. As a conservative Republican I want the liberalization of crimes eligible for the death penalty and I want juries to be more liberal in handing out the death penalty. It comforts me that criminals are given a good lethal prick in the arm on their way to hell not far from where I sleep and study. I’m proud of Governor Perry for recently telling the Europeans to govern their own countries’ and we’ll govern ours as we see fit in regards to the death penalty.
Daniel, I’m glad you’re pro-capital punishment and I do agree with you on one thing: one shouldn’t know the time of one’s death in normal circumstances. However, Kenneth Foster Jr. wasn’t in normal circumstances and I’m sure his victim felt a lot more than test anxiety before he/she died.
I’m a fair person but, as we get more concerned with criminals’ rights and welfare, there are more ethical questions of the consequences of leniency that we should ask. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to exercise their own cost effective right to deal with violent criminals: get a concealed hand gun license and be a keeper of justice. That’s the beauty of what makes us stand above, apart and ahead of other developed nations.